You guys, WE MADE IT TO THE END!!! 😉
It was a two week vacation FILLED with so many adventures, yummy food, amazing excursions and most of all, time with my family, but today is our EIGHTH and final post. Thank you for sticking with me. The recaps lasted longer than the trip 😉 .
Before I share our last two days, if you missed the other vacation posts from this trip, catch them below:
PART TWO: BOARDING THE BEYOND & PROVENCE
And now today, we finish first with Carpi and then with our day at sea.
I was the most excited to hit this port (Naples) as this is where we were going to go to the island of Capri for the day. The last time Andrew and I were there, I was VERY pregnant with Kensington, so I needless to say, I was anxious to go back and not be extremely nauseous (this is an ironic statement…you will see…). We had a BIG day planned that included not only going up to both towns in Capri but also going on a Blue Grotto Tour.
So, super happy people, lots of big plans, last real day of vacation and well…we had to punt as things didn’t go as planned.
We hopped off the boat and met our guide for the day and…this was a new tour I was trying out (to be the guinea pig for my clients)…and let’s just say she was our least organized guide. She hadn’t purchased any of our tickets in advance, so we had to hurry over and do that…and we didn’t quite make it on the boat we wanted to go on (as Capri is an island so we needed to take a boat from the port of Naples to the island).
But…after about an hour standing in the sun…
…we got on the boat. Mades’ face speaks for itself.
This boat ride went okay.
It was about an hour, but we had comfy seats, a/c and…a snack bar. As you all probably know by now, my #1 tip for not getting sea sick is to EAT SOMETHING. Let’s just say, I started eating about 30 minutes in.
When we got off the boat…
…we were here in beautiful Capri BUT due to the high crowds, we were told that our Blue Grotto tour needed to be canceled as there were too many boats, so they couldn’t accommodate everyone inside the grotto. They said boats were waiting in line to get into the grotto for hours and many were turned away after all of that waiting. Agh! That would have been awesome, but we are seasoned travelers with good attitudes…we will keep going!
We wanted to do both towns on the island next. There is Capri and Anacapri which are two different towns with very different vibes. To get to the top, there are several choices and well, our guide didn’t have any tickets booked in advance so everything was very full and she basically told us all of our options were terrible, so we needed to just pick one of the towns and spend our time there. Easy! We headed to Capri with our good attitudes for a day of eating, strolling and shopping with the other 4 million people also headed there on the tiny funicular without air conditioning. My body being smashed against sweaty strangers? No problem! I’m in Capri! Nothing will ruin this day!
We arrived at the top and needed vodka, I mean gelato, stat.
All smiles! We’re here! Mommy is a bit nauseous, but we’re here and have gelato!
The rest of the day was GORGEOUS and wonderful here in Capri! We’ve already been looking at ways to get back and stay here on the island for an entire vacation.
Once we were up there, we had a GLORIOUS time.
The views, the food…it’s all so charming and spectacular.
When I was here in July 2008, very pregnant, my mom bought an outfit in this store for our new baby (we weren’t finding out the gender) to wear home from the hospital. I took it with me on September 15, 2008 when I had my precious little girl. Now, she couldn’t wear it until she was 3 months old because she was tiny, buuuuut I still have it today. Look at us back in the same spot 14 years later with Kensington Kate.
At this point…
…you are seeing me finally in a photo because I’m no longer green. I bought myself a bag, and instantly stopped being nauseous 🙂 ….well, maybe.
We had lunch on the second story of a restaurant so that we could enjoy the views!
Love her.
The food was amazing!!!
Pesto gnocchi, yes, please!
Little raviolis for the win too.
Views for days.
Fresh lemonade from the island that is known for its lemons.
More gelato because…why not?
Our day in Capri was so lovely!
And then, we took that charming funicular that probably holds 100 on a good day but held approximately 4000 on this day back down to the boat to take us back…
…and then back on this other boat we go back to the cruise. Let me explain…this boat back boarded all of us (my guess is about 200 people) and started off towards Naples. THEN they tell us that the air conditioning is broken. And they don’t have any windows. They just have one door that they have propped open in the front and one in the back. There is no outdoor seating. You guys…I did my best for about five minutes, and then I went into full on panic mode. Zero air on this very crowded boat, and it’s like 95 degrees outside? No snacks. No fresh air. About 30 minutes into the ride I told Andrew that I was having some sort of a panic attack (which I wasn’t but at the time, that’s the only way I could describe it). He was napping. Sometimes I don’t like him. I like needed air. I NEEDED AIR. I started walking around and saw where they had the luggage roped off on the back, so I got on my hands and knees and crawled under the rope to sit between people’s luggage because I could feel the fresh air. I sat there for a glorious 15 minutes until one of the crew found me and in Italian was saying words to me I didn’t understand but it sounded like “get the heck out of here you crazy American woman who is not feeling well”.
Needless to say. Good time in Capri. I hated every second of my trip back.
This is how she boarded the ship. It was hell on that dang boat.
I don’t have any pictures from dinner. I showered and ATE and felt like a new woman but geez…even when you own a travel agency, some excursions, some boat rides, some parts of your trip go the exact opposite of the way you intended them to go. You just have to keep rolling with your good-ish (okay sometimes, terrible) attitude 😉 .
The next day…
…was our day at sea, so I took all three girls to the spa…
…a facial for Kensington, nails polished for Miss Ashby and then Mades went in the afternoon for her treatment.
We enjoyed our delicious lunch…
…everyone cooperated for pictures…
…and we spent the day by the pool.
That night, we cleaned up for dinner…
…and Miss Mades got a blowout for her spa treatment.
And that my friends is the end of this vacation. The next morning, we disembarked back in Barcelona and went straight to the airport to fly back to Dallas.
Fourteen nights, four countries, seven ports, one brand new cruise line, nine excursions and six very happy Shulls.
Once more, if you missed the other vacation posts from this trip, catch them below:
PART ONE: BARCELONA
PART TWO: BOARDING THE BEYOND & PROVENCE
PART THREE: MONTE CARLO
PART FOUR: PORTOFINO
PART FIVE: CINQUE TERRE
PART SIX: CORSCIA
PART SEVEN: ROME
Don’t forget, if you want to go on vacation too anywhere outside of the Continental US (with the exception of Disney World!), we can help get you there! We offer our services to Walt Disney World, Hawaii, all cruises and then any international destination. Please reach out to MY TRAVEL AGENCY today.
That’s it for this Tuesday! See you girls tomorrow! xx
Erika Slaughter says
Yay!! Loved getting to read about all the details (even the terrible ones)! Looked like a vaca to remember!
Elspeth says
I have loved your travel posts from this trip! So fun and so informative! It makes me want to travel soon! Thanks for sharing!
http://www.elspethsdaybyday.com
Katie Compton says
Girl. I hope you DID get that vodka, uh I mean gelato STAT. Haha! Thanks for sharing the good and not so good. I’ve loved following along on this trip. You can never do too many recaps! 😊
polly pover says
Are you concerned about COVID in very crowded places? Not just Capri, but rest of trip? Not sure when I should travel again?
Mix and Match Mama says
I think you have to travel when it feels right to you. We felt very comfortable traveling, but that’s really such a personal decision. Don’t go until you feel really ready. It’s just not worth it.
Terri Smithmier says
We were in Capri in April. We were staying in Positano and took a day trip over on the shuttle. It had an inside and outside area for fresh air. It was sunny but cool . The blue grotto was awful! We Would never do it again if we would of known. My husband wanted to leave right away after the Blue Grotto disaster but we couldn’t get a shuttle back until later afternoon.We did have a lovely lunch after taking the funicular up and did some shopping to kill time. I don’t think we would ever go back to Capri but we certainly loved Positano and Ravello.
Becky says
Loved these updates! Are you not going to do a post about the ship itself?! We want to hear about it!!
Mix and Match Mama says
I made it into a Reel and then shared pics throughout each post. I say this in one of the posts. It was a realllly nice “normal” brand new ship. It was super new and nice, but it certainly didn’t have any bells and whistles. It was just a very nice/normal ship.
Kay says
Oh, Shay, I’m so sorry about the boat trip back! But I appreciate your honesty and candid reviews. It helps everyone out there planning trips to know that things going wrong can just be a routine part of any travel.
There’s a “famous” photo in my family of my husband and three kids jumping off the side of a boat into the beautiful waters of Turks & Caicos. I was inside the boat, lying down, pouring cold water over myself trying not to throw up! ;). There is no photo of THAT. It happens!
Thanks for sharing your adventures.
Debbie says
LOVE all of these posts….I went to Italy this summer to visit my son who is there in the Navy…I brought his 4 children with me, and it was a WONDERFUL trip….he is stationed in Naples, and we visited Rome for 2 days, and Sorrento, which was also beautiful. We also visited Pompeii, which was just so, so amazing.
Cynthia Solomon says
Thank you for all the beautiful photos! You have such sweet and cooperative kids and hubby, what a blessing!!
Haley says
Sooo…next time you’ll just hop on a Super Yacht with Captain Sandy, right??? 😉 I blame you for my husband and I being addicted to Below Deck. Haha!
Mix and Match Mama says
Captain Sandy would have gotten me there in no time flat 😉 .
Melissa says
Links/names to your hat and sunglasses in Capri, please! 🙂
Mix and Match Mama says
My hat was purchased at our first port in Provence, France!! The glasses are from Louis Vuitton.
Kristy says
I loved reading the novel of your vacation. It looks beautiful and lots of memories made. Do you plan which bag you are going to buy on your vacations or do you wait to feel inspired while you are there?
Mix and Match Mama says
I had made a plan in advance. My day in Capri made me feel extra generous towards myself though, so that was a bonus bag for my troubles 😉 .
Denise says
Without a doubt the best recap of all! Brutally honest!! Even for a pro, things go wrong. It’s how you handle them that makes or breaks the trip – or your life! Thanks for the lesson on how to handle gracefully.
Megan says
Great job pushing through a tough day and making the most of it!
Kristen says
Did you like Celebrity, was there alot to do onboard? I just came off the Disney dream and while I thought rooms and food were fantastic, there weren’t enough activities and the pools for the kids were so tiny! The adult side however was great. Wondering how Celebrity stacks up. I love Royal Carribean and would love to see how Celebrity compares.
Mix and Match Mama says
There are so many pros and cons to all of the ships and lines. I thought our ship was just perfect for the time we had and what we wanted to do. We were typically super tired and just wanted to chill in the evenings after such long days…had we had multiple days at sea, I think our ship would have gotten a bit boring for the kids.
K.K. says
I feel so badly for you on that boat back, and I’ve had a similar experience on a boat with no a/c. Way to go for finding the luggage!! I wish you hadn’t have been “caught” – and I also kind of wish there was a picture! 😉
Mix and Match Mama says
It was every man for themselves on that dang boat 😉 . It was overall, a great day!
Tina says
enjoyed your vacay recaps! Looks like it was a wonderful trip (minus the nausea!) I just wanted to send out a thank you to your travel agency. Clare helped us put together a wonderful trip to the UK. It was awesome not having to worry about all the details (air fare, hotels, etc.).
Mix and Match Mama says
Yay!!! I’m so happy that you shared this! Thank you, Tina!!!
Terri Smithmier says
We visited Capri In April. We were staying in Positano and took the ferry over for the day. It was very crowded with daytrippers from cruise ships that day. We also did the Blue Grotto and it was awful! My husband was so worked up with the crowds and the disaster Blue Grotto trip that he wanted to go back to Positano immediately. There were no return shuttles until later in the day so we had to kill time until then . We took the funicular up to a restaurant and had a long lunch, walked around the stores and people watched. We will probably never go back to Capri again. We loved our time in Positano and Ravello.
Jen says
Glad you made the best of it! I’d be super annoyed about the excursion lady, but you guys handled it well!
Kari Reynolds says
Wow! What a finish! I’ve enjoyed all of your recaps and they’ve inspired me to take our own family trip. Thank you for all of the details and great photos!
Patty Anderson says
I LOVE the adorable way Ashby poses with her right leg “popped.” Adorable! So sorry you were green though. Not cool.
Josie says
I love how you keep it real here.
Question about your tour guide here- I’ve been in a similar situation. Do you still tip like you would a great guide? And would you tell her why you didn’t like her so she can improve?
Mix and Match Mama says
We did still tip her at the end of the day. Was it that our other 8 guides were just exceptional? I don’t know. Did we get suuuuper lucky with the other 8? Maybe? It’s always tricky.
Dianne says
How do you think you would have done on the blue grotto boat? We are to go in March/April and I am worried about it. I have heard that it can be very “bouncy” as you wait.
Mix and Match Mama says
Well, I was “taking one for the team” because I heard the same thing. I don’t know? My stomach is sensitive, so it could have been trouble, buuuuut it’s also a really great experience, so perhaps it would have been worth it?
Gretchen Dall says
So motion sickness has always stopped me from even considering cruising. You don’t get seasick on the ship?
Mix and Match Mama says
Not at all!!
Beth Knecht says
Oh dear! I feel you on needing air! Somewhere along the way of getting older I started getting claustrophobic and have had to ask to move seats or start walking around on tender boats and even airplanes when it’s so crowded! Hate that, but glad you found some air amid the luggage!!
Sheaffer says
Gosh, I remember your texts after the boat ride that day. I would have puked FOR SURE. I can’t believe you didn’t! Still looks like a beautiful day!
Tiffany says
I have loved all your vacation recaps! I feel like I am having trouble breathing after reading about the boat ride back. I would have totally had a meltdown.
Becka says
Hi! I have been reading your blog for years and LOVE IT, but I don’t know if I have ever commented. I am so sorry about the boat ride – I get very motion sickness also and understand the need for air – but Capri is gorgeous and so glad you all had a good time! I also saw that Smith was wearing a shirt from Missoula in some of the photos! I actually grew up in a small suburb of Boston and spent a lot of my life on the East Coast, but I have lived right outside Missoula for almost six years – was very cool to see his shirt 🙂
Mix and Match Mama says
I’m SO HAPPY that you stopped by and said hi!!! Andrew went to Missoula last fall and brought the shirt back for Smith. I hear you live in a GOREGEOUS area!!